SBA business acquisition eligibility checker
See whether your acquisition appears to fit the baseline SBA requirements, and which questions need review. It does not approve anything, and it says which of its own questions it cannot score.
Read this first
This is a screen, not a decision. Of the 9 questions below, 2 are scored against a provision checked against its published source. The other 7 are recorded and routed to review, because their provisions have not been verified against the operative SOP text.
That is deliberate. Scoring a provision nobody has read would produce a checker that answers confidently and wrongly, which is worse than one that states what it does not know. The questions are still collected, because the answers are what an advisor needs to see.
Nothing here is an approval, an eligibility determination, or an indication that any lender will lend.
The questionnaire
Review required
9 questions still need review before an SBA route can be assessed.
Needs review
Is every owner of the applicant business a US citizen or US national, with their principal residence in the United States?
Ownership has to be established before anything else, because this requirement applies to every owner and no other answer can compensate for it.
Needs review
How much 7(a) principal would you be requesting?
Without the requested loan amount the program maximum cannot be applied. Note that it is measured against the loan, not the purchase price.
Needs review
Is the target an operating, for-profit business located in the United States?
This question is recorded but not scored. The provision behind it has not been verified against the operative SOP text, so the answer routes to review rather than to a conclusion.
Needs review
Does the target meet the SBA size standard for its industry?
This question is recorded but not scored. The provision behind it has not been verified against the operative SOP text, so the answer routes to review rather than to a conclusion.
Needs review
Is this a complete change of ownership — the buyer acquiring 100% of the business?
This question is recorded but not scored. The provision behind it has not been verified against the operative SOP text, so the answer routes to review rather than to a conclusion.
Needs review
Does the buyer, or any affiliate, already have an SBA loan outstanding?
This question is recorded but not scored. The provision behind it has not been verified against the operative SOP text, so the answer routes to review rather than to a conclusion.
Needs review
Is the required equity injection available as the buyer’s own cash?
This question is recorded but not scored. The provision behind it has not been verified against the operative SOP text, so the answer routes to review rather than to a conclusion.
Needs review
Does the structure rely on a seller note counting toward the equity injection?
This question is recorded but not scored. The provision behind it has not been verified against the operative SOP text, so the answer routes to review rather than to a conclusion.
Needs review
Could the buyer obtain this financing on reasonable terms without an SBA guaranty?
This question is recorded but not scored. The provision behind it has not been verified against the operative SOP text, so the answer routes to review rather than to a conclusion.
What this screen covers
Of 9 questions, 2 are scored against a provision that has been checked against its source. The other 7 are recorded and routed to review, because their provisions have not been verified against the operative SOP text.
So this is a screen, not an eligibility decision. It cannot approve anything, it cannot tell you a lender will lend, and "no objection found" would mean only that these few questions raised none.
Credit history, the target's size standard and affiliation, the equity injection, and whether credit is available elsewhere on reasonable terms are all assessed by a lender against facts this page does not collect.
What to do with the result
Both outcomes lead to the same place. A constraint means the SBA route is closed and the conversation is about which other financing route fits. No constraint means the questions this page can score raised none, and the rest still need a lender's assessment.
See what financing may fit this deal
Duneland's work is the non-SBA side of this: conventional bank debt, private credit and seller-note structures. Those routes have their own lender requirements, and none of them is guaranteed to be available either.
Model the alternative
The ownership requirement, as published
Every owner of an applicant small business must be a US citizen or US national with their principal residence in the United States.
A lawful permanent resident is neither a US citizen nor a US national, so a business with any lawful-permanent-resident ownership is not eligible. The SBA describes a business owned in whole or in part by a foreign national as ineligible, so there is no minority stake small enough to fall outside the rule.
This took effect on March 1, 2026, under SBA Policy Notice 5000-876441, updating SOP 50 10 8. The SBA's own announcement of the change states the requirement in the same terms. Checked September 18, 2026.
The operative text sits in the notice's own document, which is not reproduced here. What this page states is what the SBA's published pages state.
The loan maximum is measured against the loan
The SBA publishes a maximum of $5,000,000 per borrower for a 7(a) loan. That ceiling applies to the loan amount, not to the purchase price and not to the total project cost.
So a $6,000,000 acquisition financed with a $4,000,000 7(a) loan sits inside the ceiling, while a $4,000,000 acquisition financed with a $5,500,000 loan does not. Existing SBA exposure, including that of affiliates, counts against the same limit — which is a common reason a deal that looks inside it is not.
A loan above the ceiling does not put an acquisition outside every SBA structure, and it does not make the deal unfundable. It means a single 7(a) loan is not the whole answer.
What a lender settles, not this page
Creditworthiness and credit history. Whether the target meets the size standard for its industry, and whether affiliated businesses are counted with it. How much equity the program requires and what may count toward it. Whether a seller note on standby is given any equity credit. And whether credit is available elsewhere on reasonable terms, which is an assessment a lender makes rather than a question a buyer answers about themselves.
Each of those needs documented facts and a lender's judgment. A web page that scored them would be guessing.
Illustrative results for planning. Not a financing commitment, financial advice or legal advice.
Duneland Financial is an independent capital advisory firm and does not directly extend credit. Financing is provided by third-party lenders and capital providers and remains subject to their individual underwriting, approval and documentation requirements. Information provided on this website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a financing commitment, financial advice or legal advice.
Related reading
What changed in the program, and what the alternatives cost.
- SBA Ownership Eligibility Changes in 2026: What Acquisition Buyers Should KnowFrom March 2026 the SBA bars green card holders from any ownership in a borrower. Here is what changed, and which financing routes remain open.
- Where SBA Acquisition Financing Commonly Gets StuckSBA 7(a) loans open doors for acquisition buyers, and they carry requirements that end deals. What the program asks, and where files fail.
- SBA Loan vs. Conventional Loan: Breaking It Down with a $5 Million ExampleSBA against conventional financing on a $5 million acquisition: the rates, the interest each route costs over ten years, and which one suits which buyer.
SBA eligibility: common questions
Does this tool tell me whether I am eligible for an SBA loan?
No, and it is built so that it cannot. It screens a small number of baseline questions and reports one of three outcomes: a constraint it can identify, a question that needs review, or nothing it found to object to. Only two of its questions are scored against a provision that has been checked against its source; the rest are recorded and routed to review. Eligibility is determined by a lender applying the full program rules to documented facts.
Can a lawful permanent resident own any part of an SBA borrower?
No. Since March 1, 2026 the SBA has required every owner of an applicant small business to be a US citizen or US national with their principal residence in the United States. The SBA describes a business owned in whole or in part by a foreign national as ineligible, so there is no minority stake small enough to fall outside the requirement. This is SBA Policy Notice 5000-876441, updating SOP 50 10 8.
Is the $5 million SBA limit measured against the purchase price?
No. It is a maximum on the 7(a) loan amount per borrower, not on the purchase price or the total project cost. A $6 million acquisition with a $4 million 7(a) loan is inside the ceiling; a $4 million acquisition financed with a $5.5 million loan is not. Existing SBA exposure, including that of affiliates, also counts against it.
What does "review required" mean?
That something material is unresolved. Either a question is unanswered, or the provision behind it has not been verified against the operative SOP text, or it is a question a lender decides rather than a buyer. An unanswered question never counts as a pass, and answering a different question favorably does not clear it.
Why does the tool not score most of its own questions?
Because verifying a provision means reading the operative SOP text, recording the section, and having someone accountable sign it off. Until that is done for a question, scoring it would mean inventing an outcome — a checker that answers confidently and wrongly, which is worse than one that says what it does not know. The questions are collected anyway, because the answers are what an advisor needs to see.
If the SBA route is closed, what else is there?
Conventional bank debt, private credit, and seller financing all fund acquisitions without an SBA guaranty. Conventional lenders usually ask for more equity than the SBA program does, and underwrite the target’s cash flow directly. Each of those routes has its own lender requirements, and none of them is guaranteed to be available either.
Have a deal in front of you?
Whether you have a signed LOI, are preparing an offer or are still evaluating the opportunity, send us the basic numbers and where you are in the process. We’ll look at the business, buyer and proposed structure and determine what the financing path may look like.